Hot From The Kettle ®
I was walking through Anderson Park this morning when I spotted a patch of purple and white in the distance. Sure enough, it was crocus. A sure sign of Spring.
As I continued my walk I encountered a few other subtle indications that Spring is definitely on it's way. Take a look at the rest of the pics.
On Tuesday, March 15, 7-10 pm, Restaurant Passionne, 77 Walnut Street, Montclair, along with Brooklyn Brewery will host a beer pairing dinner to benefit the World Cares Center (WCC), a relief outreach organization.
WCC is a registered 501(c)(3) that fosters sustainable, locally led disaster preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives worldwide. Founded in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, WCC is now working with all levels of emergency management nationwide and internationally to integrate communities and its members into disaster response plans.
Just as cookie baking commences during Christmas time, in Italian households, pie making occurs around Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
This is a very old recipe, so there are many different variations. For me, the ground clove in this recipe is what makes the pie so memorable.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. ricotta
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. cocoa
Grated chocolate
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients throoughly. Pour into prepared pie crust and top with crust. Brush with beaten egg. When cool dust with conectioner's suger.
I'm chomping at the bit for grilling season to kick off. Though I've enjoyed indoor grilling on my Thermador - I'm ready to go outside!
Since I'm not one for sticking to the rules, I gave into my impatience and lit up the Weber.
Twice in fact. On Tuesday I grilled Mole Pork Tenderloins, and last night I threw some Pork Chops on, and even sauteed some onion and olives!
It was great! It was liberating! It was smokin' good!
So when does grilling season commence? Is grilling like white pants? Only after a certain date, but never before? Have you lit up the grill yet?
Meatball lovers, hold on to your hats! On March 18, Hot From The Kettle will be shooting a video from the Kettle Kitchen with the Meatball King of New Jersey, Johnny "Meatballs" DeCarlo.
Johnny's looking for a Meatball Making Assistant to help him out during the video shoot!
Post your answer to the question below in the Comments Section to win a chance to work along with Johnny as he creates his Meatballs in Sunday Gravy. The winner will also recieve a six pack of Johnny's Meatballs, and a signed copy of his book, "My Big Friggin' Book." Here's the question:
If you could have a dinner date with any celebrity chef, who would it be? And what would you eat?
From the answers received, Johnny "Meatballs" will select his favorite response, and name the winner here on Hot From The Kettle.
Johnny DeCarlo starred in the VH1 reality series, My Big Friggin' Wedding. He currently writes a weekly food and entertainment column on I-Italy.org called Cugine Corner – The Johnny Meatballs Blog.
In 2010 he wrote and recorded “The Meatball Song,” with music superstar Lucas Prata, now available on I-Tunes.
He is married to Megin Klunck-DeCarlo and has two boys, Matthew John and Christian Dean. The Meatball Family reside in Bergen County, New Jersey.